The cop lightly patted the other's face, smiling as he spoke
"Not accepting it is not an option, I'm a man of principles. What's the amount should be, is what the amount will be. I won't shortchange you a penny, understand?"
"Whatever you say goes, I'll agree to everything."
The gang leader, already beaten to the brink of collapse, could only struggle to nod, though he was completely confused and cursed in his heart.
Damn cyber maniac, you're screwing if I pay you, and screwing if I don't. Are you out of your mind?
"Good."
Only then did the cop reveal a satisfied smile, pulling out a contract from his coat
"Here, sign this. Oh, rember to fill in the numbers in the rent column yourself."
Looking at that devilish smile, the untied gang leader trembled as he picked up the pen, glancing at the cop's expression while inscribing in the rent column
1....
He wanted to write 1 euro coin, but the cop's icy gaze made his hand tremble, causing him to accidentally scribble it as an 8.
Cop: "What are you looking at for? Keep writing..."
The gang leader added another 0, making the rent ten tis as much, 80 euro coins a month
But the cop still had that deadpan expression, so he nervously added another zero, increasing it tenfold again.
"Ahem...."
A cough made the gang leader nearly lose his soul. Only after seeing the cop's friendly expression did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Once the cop saw the gang leader sign and seal it, he kindly said, "So, it's settled then. 800 euro coins a month, three copies, no backing out."
"No backing out, no backing out, 800 euro coins with utilities included. Everyone in the business knows I'm Jack, a man of principle; what's said is said."
"Good."
The cop, satisfied, pulled back his copy of the contract, and a ga notification indicated that the contract was in effect
"Alright, guys, let's go."
The gang leader mournfully said, "Masters, take... take care... I won't see you out..."
Returning from mories of a few days ago, the cop spoke to the clueless Egyptian Beauty
"Sure, I happen to know the boss around here. He's quite easy-going. 800 euro coins a month, no tricks, but what kind of business did you want to open? The BOSS wouldn't approve of any off-the-wall plans."
800 euro coins?
Although feeling sothing was off, the Egyptian Beauty believed the cop wouldn't scam her
The Egyptian Beauty placed her hands on her hips, striking a bizarre JOJO pose
"Equipnt production factory."
"The Sea Superman Studio is up to their ears in work, orders stacked sky-high. A few chanic players and I figured that equipnt with low technical requirents, yet suitable for mass production, doesn't need to bother the studio — we can set up an assembly line ourselves for mass production."
He had also noticed the increasing number of players — it was impossible for everyone to rely solely on the Sea Superman Studio. Otherwise, wouldn't they have to wait until next year?
Products like the Cloak Cockroach, players could set up a production line for mass production themselves, which would also relieve so pressure on the factories over at Stone Ridge Mountain.
At this mont, a young child's voice interrupted their conversation
"Oh, is this where Mom will work in the future?"
Ling i, hand held by her mother, entered the shop and curiously looked around. The simple tables and chairs, front counter, and kitchen didn't appear much different from ordinary restaurants, except the nu included items she had never seen before.
Players in Night City were all eager to try the food out of curiosity, even if it didn't taste good, they could just shut off sll and taste to force it down. But once they had money, they still pursued gastronomic pleasures, and the Western... or current Night City cuisine, diverged greatly from what players were accustod to.
Though street vendors on Republic East Road had already started adapting their food to better suit the taste buds of these rcenaries, players naturally understood better what they really wanted to eat.
"Egg fried rice?"
"Fried rice noodles?"
"Sago milk tea?"
The cop, who had been discussing the shop, saw a familiar face entering and said with a smile, "Yes, want to try so? Ling i could be the first custor, and it's on the house."
"Really?"
Ling i's eyes widened, her little hands fidgeting behind her back
Not only Ling i, even her mother had never seen anything like this in Night City. They might never have even seen a chicken egg.
Of course, the cop couldn't possibly get real eggs, at least not now. The so-called fried rice was actually made with artificial lecithin, sodium alginate, calcium lactate, and other ingredients to create egg powder, which, when fried, didn't taste too different from genuine scrambled eggs, but certainly lacked the latter's nutritional value. As for rice, it was sourced from player-run chemical stations.
They were about to abandon the idea when the cop and others convinced them to keep going.
After all, there would be at least several thousand mouths in the future. Expanding production to reduce costs was a valuable technical reserve.
With the rice in hand, making rice-based products like rice noodles and sago would be a piece of cake.
Unlike her inquisitive daughter, Nishikawa ishu worriedly looked around.
This was in the Taiping Continent, reportedly the most chaotic area in Night City. It took her a lot of courage and trust in these rcenaries to co work here, and including her daughter, there were only two servers.
After hesitating a while, she slowly asked the cop
"Old... Boss.... What do I need to do?"
The cop pointed at the front desk's computer and cash register
"Cashiering, serving dishes, basically all that restaurants typically have."
Then he added
"If you encounter any danger, press the red button under the table, and soone will co to assist imdiately. The Haitians are also watching the entrance area, just make sure to protect yourself until then."
"But since it's already dark, let's open tomorrow."
Besides the front desk staff, there were also two cooks in the back, both recruited from the Watson District. It took quite an effort for the cop to teach them how to make these als.
He wanted to give further instructions, but Egyptian Beauty gently laid a hand on his shoulder, speaking softly.
"There's a mission, seems like soone's causing trouble at the bar. Should we go back and take a look?"
"Huh?"
Interrupted, the cop thought he misheard
Soone causing trouble at the agency bar?
Are they tired of living?
BOOM!!!
A clap of thunder exploded, lighting up the dark blue sky as if it were day, scaring little Ling i into hiding in her mother's embrace.
Suddenly, a torrential downpour engulfed the glowing cityscape.
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